Rangeland Reform

posted May 5, 2011, 7:14 PM by Goldfields Land and Sea Council

In the Ministerial Media Statement dated 13 December 2010 regarding the proposed Rangelands Reform, Mr Brendon Grylls MP and Mr Terry Redman MP stated that the government wanted “to encourage investment in industry and make it a lot easier for pastoralists to find other ways to earn an income or expand their business”. The GLSC is not averse to this approach save that any lease diversification application does not adversely affect or diminish any native title rights and interests – currently and into the future. The proposed alternative tenure options such as perpetual pastoral leases has the potential for mass extinguishment of native title; something which is not in the interests of all Western Australians, particularly Aboriginal Western Australians - thus impacting their ability to access and use their traditional lands in accordance with their rights and interests under the law.

The Rangelands Reform could be seen as a surreptitious land grab by the State, by reducing native title through land tenure reform; nor should the Rangelands Reform be used as a pre-emptive bargaining tool to whittle away any future right to negotiate in good faith. What the GLSC does not want to see is „the baby thrown out with the bath water‟. Media Contact: GLSC Chief Executive Officer – (08) 9091 1661